As the rates of teen prescription drug abuse continue to pose a public health threat at epidemic levels, many fear their teens will do almost anything in order to get their hands on prescription medication, which can be conveniently obtained in almost every household at practically no cost.

It is estimated that each day, approximately 2500 teens use some type of prescription medication for the first time, making it the most abused category of drugs in the U.S with the exception of marijuana. National surveys have shown that 1 out of every 4 teens has abused a prescription medication which leads to addiction, experts like Dr. Drew Pinsky believes that the problem is bigger than we think it is.

“Young people are putting themselves in danger, even dying, because they do not understand how dangerous these otherwise safe prescription medications can be when misused and abused”. Pinsky said.

Pinsky, who works with a national drug awareness problem known as “Smart Moves, Smart Choices”, believes the first step in preventing prescription drug abuse is to inform teens on the serious consequences they rarely hear about. He also believes that parents should monitor their medicine cabinets and properly dispose of any leftover medication that could potentially fall into the hands of a curious teen. Moreover, Pinsky believes that educators need to take initiative and incorporate projects, assignments and activities that get teens involved with drug related content, in order to enlighten them on the life threatening and potentially fatal consequences they can face if they give into peer pressure, even if the drug is a seemingly innocent cough syrup, nesting in an unattended medicine cabinet.

Do you know or suspect your child is abusing prescription drugs? He or she might still be in the pre-stages of addiction, either way you know you can't wait to get help.

If you have any questions, please know that Inspirations Teen Drug Rehab is here to provide you with support and guidance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We welcome the opportunity to answer your questions free of charge about teen behavior, substance use, adolescent addiction, teen drug rehab, or other related matters.

Addiction and Behavior Treatment for Teens: 1-888-757-6237    
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com


Addiction Treatment for young adults and adults : 1-888-387-6237    
http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com

New Trend: Vodka-Soaked Gummy Bears

Consuming “vodka gummy bears” is now considered a dangerous new trend among teens whose parents would never assume an innocent bag of gummy bears lying in the fridge contained alcohol.

Vodka-soaked gummy bears, a do-it-yourself alcoholic candy, are becoming a national trend and Inspirations Teen Rehab wants parents and teachers to be on the lookout because most of us wouldn’t suspect a child with gummy candy is trying to get drunk.

While fads come and go, this one might stick around a little longer, as several videos on YouTube have been found given step by step instructions on how to prepare the vodka gummy bears to disguise alcohol consumption. Incidents have already been reported in New York and Nebraska of children soaking the candy in vodka or gin and then bringing the bloated bears to school.

“Impact”, a local group coaching Milwaukee teens on drug and alcohol prevention, has been reaching out to teens by providing them with young peer counselors they can relate to, which in this case, is an individual from the same generation who faces the same social challenges and peer pressure the teen faces while attending school. Kaela Wojtycski, a peer counselor wants her fellow teens to know that alcohol is not the long term solution to their problems. Wojtycski has said “trying to keep your grades up, balancing between friends and school work just gets to you sometimes. But you know, doing things like drinking, smoking, are just going to add on to your problems."

The counselors have been able to successfully indentify dangerous fads among teens and work with other counselors in the program in order to discourage drug and alcohol use and promote public awareness on dangerous trends such as “vodka gummy bears”, which can go undetected unless exposed on a larger scale.

If you have any questions, please know that Inspirations Teen Rehab is here to provide you with support and guidance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We welcome the opportunity to answer your questions free of charge about teen alcohol abuse, teen behavior, substance use, adolescent addiction, teen drug rehab, or other related matters.

Contact us at: 1-888-757-6237
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com

The Growing Problem of Synthetic Drugs

While many blame illegal drugs for causing accidental deaths and overdoses, many fail to realize that legal synthetic drugs are the underlying cause of a growing number of drug-related incidents.

Due to its legality and widespread availability, many have turned to synthetic drugs in order to achieve the same effects they were achieving while using illegal drugs. Substances such as “iAroma”, whose fumes are inhaled, were developed to substitute K2 and marijuana, which lead to serious health complications and numerous ER visits by unassuming individuals who believed that if a substance was legal, it could not have major risks. 

Furthermore, research has shown that in addition to legal substances becoming dangerously popular in the U.S, legally prescribed painkillers are just as culpable, with at least 15,000 deaths occurring from their abuse each year, a number that is higher than heroin and cocaine overdoses combined.

With a growing number of synthetic drug casualties, schools and community centers should invest in programs that focus on illegal and legal drugs circulating throughout communities in order to raise public awareness and contact authorities and even government legislators to help prevent the distribution and potentially ban any legal substance which poses a public health threat.

For more information on synthetic drugs and drug rehabilitation visit: 

Addiction Treatment for Teens: 1-888-757-6237    
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com

Addiction Treatment for Young Adults and Adults: 1-888-387-6237    
http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com

Teen Alcohol Problems Can Start Early: Don't be an Enabler

While many parents believe it’s harmless to allow their underage teen to drink alcohol during family events and gatherings, they are inadvertently subjecting themselves to potential civil and criminal lawsuits that could bear lifelong consequences for both the teen and the parents.

The Marlboro Alliance against substance abuse, an organization created to raise awareness about the substance abuse problems many teenagers face in today’s society, recently lectured on the civil and criminal repercussions of parents providing their children with alcohol. The organization emphasized that it is important for parents to understand the liability issues that can arise from a simple scenario such as allowing an underage teen to have glass of wine during a family gathering. They also highlighted the fact that most parents fail to realize that in the event of an automobile accident in which the teen is found guilty of consuming alcohol and getting behind the wheel, the parents who provided the teen with the alcohol or better known as “host parents”, can be convicted with civil liability charges for being negligent and providing a minor with alcoholic beverages.

Furthermore, regardless of whether an alcohol related incident occurs or not, parents can be held legally responsible for their child’s misconduct, which could also have life threatening consequences for the young teens such as alcohol poisoning or drunk driving.

In hopes of reducing substance abuse related casualties among teens, the Marlboro Alliance has vowed to continue to provide parents with information regarding alcohol and drugs in addition to informing them on the symptoms of alcohol poisoning and other substance-abuse related complications.

Teen alcohol abuse has become a great concern for parents in the recent years. Inspirations Teen Drug Rehab understands the legal consequence that results of a teen's poor choice regarding alcohol abuse and behavior. Many times these actions might be an indication of a greater issue such as substance abuse or addiction, a mental health issue such as depression or other diagnosis. If your family is having a difficult time dealing with this situation, call us at our adolescent addiction treatment center.

Teen Alcohol Problems and Substance Abuse Problems? Call: 1-888-757-6237      

Adolescent Residential Addiction Treatment Center
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com

Young Adult and Adult Alcohol Addiction Problems? Call: 1-888-387-6237      
http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com

Teens and Marijuana: Why Parents Should not Ignore

Daily marijuana use among young adults is at its highest levels since 1991. A national survey released in October shows that 17 million Americans — mostly teens or young adults — used pot in 2010. About 40% of those used it on 20 or more days in the past month, up from 36.7% in 2009.

The director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Nora Volkow, recently stated that “roughly one out of 10 people who try marijuana get addicted" and "young users were more vulnerable than older ones”. She also stated that because research hasn’t been able to identify the underlying reasons why some individuals become addicted and some don’t, it is safer to avoid the substance and its potential dangers. Furthermore, Volkow blames medicinal marijuana for undermining the serious side effects of marijuana by portraying it as beneficial to one’s health. Additionally, Volkow believes that “hearing about the medicinal benefits of marijuana makes people think it must not be harmful”.

Peter Delany of the Substance Abuse and Mental health Administration believes that marijuana has become the biggest drug problem in the United States considering how the number of its users has more than doubled in the past decade.

The media also plays an important role in decreasing the social stigma attached to marijuana by portraying it “cool” and “commonly used by every top athlete and celebrity”.

The widespread ignorance by teens (and some of  their parents) and  the media's general failure is to distinguish between adolescents and adults when they report on marijuana use and its dangers. When you're young and the body is still growing, marijuana actually has the potential of inflicting a long-lasting, negative impact on the developing brain. In addition, using marijuana at a young age can result in structural and functional deficits of the brain. This could develop weakened verbal and communication skills, lowered learning capabilities and a shortened attention span.

Parents concerned about their impressionable teenagers can get involved by monitoring their teen’s circle of friends and openly communicating about the dangerous side effects of marijuana that is rarely discussed in the media.

For more information on teen marijuana abuse and teen marijuana addiction treatment, visit Inspirations for Youth and Families.

Addiction and Behavior Treatment for Teens: 1-888-757-6237
http://www.inspirationsyouth.com
http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com

Addiction Treatment for adults and young adults: 1-888-387-6237
http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com

Cough Medicine: A Dangerous Fad Among Young Teens

Most parents seem to believe that their young teenager would never experiment with drugs, steal medicine from the family medicine cabinet or get peer pressured into taking an illegal substance in order to fit in with other teens. 

The truth is, most parents are wrong.

Available in almost every family household, and having a unique chemical compound which makes it impossible to detect with standardized drug tests,  cough syrup is a choice of drug for many young teens.

Statistics shows that the majority of teens who abuse cough medicine are between the ages of 12 and 17, often consisting of seemingly “good” kids whose parents would never in their wildest dreams imagine their children are abusing cough medicine to get high. In most cases  teens abusing cough medicine are oblivious to the dangerous side effects of the drug.  Hallucinations, drowsiness, severe behavioral changes are just a few to name. Teens have shown up at the emergency room not knowing where they are or who they are, and the parents are terrified and have no idea what’s going on.

Inspirations teen addiction treatment encourages parents to get actively involved in their teen’s life in order to be able to detect suspicious behavior and potentially troublesome friends. Parents should keep bottles of cough syrup and other medicine out of their children's reach and monitor their social circle in order to ensure they are not receiving mysterious gifts from friends that could land them a trip to the emergency room. Furthermore, they should present them with scenarios and situations where they might be tempted to experiment with drugs and teach them how to successfully refuse illegal substances.

For more information on teen drug abuse, teen behavior problems and teen addiction treatment, visit Inspirations for Youth and Families. 

Addiction and Behavior Treatment for Teens: 1-888-757-6237

http://www.inspirationsyouth.com

http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com

Addiction Treatment for young adults and adults: 1-888-387-6237

http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com

When your Teenager is Lying about Drugs

While being lied to by a rebellious teen may be enough to make parents  feel  angry, hurt or betrayed, it is crucial that parents focus on the underlying reasons why their teen is lying because quite often,  teens successfully attempt to hide their drug abuse from their parents by lying. 

Chief of psychiatry at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, Dr. Mason Turner, says “Most teens don’t think about what comes next, and concerns about the future don’t enter into their decision making.”

Parents concerned about their teens devious habits regarding drugs should consider the following tips:

1-Trust your instincts

So often when parents witness “red flags” and other signs that indicate their teen headed towards trouble, they ignore their intuition. Some parents even go as far as blaming themselves for having obsessive thoughts and/or being too sensitive or paranoid. But the bottom line is, if parents go with their gut feeling, their bound to be right most of the time.

2- Keeping up with drug trends

Many parents suspect their teen is using drugs and is up to no good, but they rule out the possibility of them using drugs because they are unable to see common side effects such as blood shot eyes, slurred speech, etc. With over hundreds of drug variations in today’s market, teens are bound to use some type of drug that doesn’t carry the same side effects, thus fooling parents into believing they are “clean” and that their parents are paranoid. It is crucial for parents to do extensive research on common drugs circulating in their communities as well as informing themselves on different types of drugs and their side effects. 

3-Not being afraid to seek outside help

Having a teenage that uses drugs and/or is addicted may be stigmatizing and humiliating to some families to the extent to which they refuse to let anybody outside the immediate family become aware of the problem. These families often find themselves emotionally and physically exhausted when it comes to their child, but refuse to seek outside help regardless. Parents need to remember that just like they would take their ill child to a physician if they were to become ill, they need to seek the help of a certified interventionist, counselor or therapist who has been adequately trained to deal with delicate situations such as teenage drug abuse. By seeking professional help, families will expedite their child’s recovery and share their burden with individuals who know exactly what it takes to deal with teenage drug issues.

For more information on teen drug abuse problems and teen addiction treatment, visit Inspirations for Youth and Families.

Addiction and Behavior Treatment for Teens: 1-888-757-6237

http://www.inspirationsyouth.com

http://www.inspirationsteenrehab.com

Addiction Treatment for young adults and adults : 1-888-387-6237

http://www.covecenterforrecovery.com